OR Tambo District Municipality

To create an economically viable municipality through optimum utilisation of available resources. To provide efficient and effective service delivery, adequate access to land, security of tenure, housing, social wellbeing and effective skills development aimed at promoting a self-sustaining, healthy community.

The economy of the OR Tambo District hinges around the four key economic drivers of agriculture, tourism, forestry, and mariculture and aquaculture. The municipality has engaged in programmes related to these sectors in line with the district’s Local Economic Development and Integrated Sustainable Rural Development strategies. The Provincial Growth and Development Plan identifies agriculture as the key driver of local economic development in the district. Agriculture is comprised of two components: livestock and crop development. Langeni Forest and Magwa Tea are the major contributors to the forestry sector.

Mbizana, Qaukeni, Port St Johns, Nyandeni and King Sabata Dalindyebo local municipalities form part of the Wild Coast, which attracts the majority of tourists to the resorts scattered along the coastline. The natural beauty of the area’s beaches, estuaries and rivers, combined with a landscape suitable for hiking, makes the OR Tambo District an attractive destination for holidaymakers and adventure tourists. Ecotourism is also very important, as the Eastern Cape is a centre of endemism and the OR Tambo District in particular is home to some of the largest vulture colonies in the country. Rich in cultural and political heritage, the district is also home to the OR Tambo garden of remembrance, the Madiba Trail and the Nelson Mandela Museum.